Velankanni

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Velankanni (Tamil: வேளாங்கண்ணி Velankanni [ ʋe ː ː ɭa ŋɡəɳ ː i]; well Velānganni, Vailankanni ) is a city in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu with 10,144 inhabitants ( 2001 census). The place of apparitions Velankanni is the most important Catholic pilgrimage center of India and regarded as the " Lourdes of the East".

Geography

Velankanni is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal in the district of Nagapattinam of the state of Tamil Nadu. The nearest large town is the district capital, 12 kilometers north of Nagapattinam, Chennai (Madras ), the capital of Tamil Nadu, there are 320 km. South of the town flows the Vellayar, one of the many estuaries in the Kaveri River delta, into the sea.

There are numerous transport links via the nearby Nagapattinam. Currently, a railway station in Velankanni and a ten kilometer long branch line from Nagapattinam under construction, is to be connected by the Velankanni to the railway network.

Velankanni is one of the area of ​​the Indian coast that was hit most severely by the tsunami on 26 December 2004. In Velankanni even came by the tsunami of 2000 people lost their lives. Velankanni was particularly hard hit, because there were in town for the Christmas festivities, many pilgrims.

Religious significance

Through the missionary activity of the Portuguese, who entertained a base in Nagapattinam, there were in the area as early as the 16th century Catholics. By 1600, there should have been in Velankanni total of three Apparitions. At the site of the apparition, a church was built, which was repeatedly rebuilt and expanded, most recently 1974/75. In 1962, Pope John XXIII. the Church of Velankanni in the rank of a minor basilica. In its present form is the Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health is a whitewashed neo-gothic building with a 110 meter long nave and two 40 -meter-long transepts. The transept is crowned by a 28 meter high octagon, the portal flanked by two 25 meter high bell towers.

The Basilica of Velankanni is " Our Lady of Health" (English Our Lady of Good Health, Tamil ஆரோக்கிய மாதா Arokkiya Mata ) consecrated. The pilgrimage to Velankanni be attributed healing powers. Many pilgrims come to Velankanni and pray for a cure for their disease. People who have been healed after a pilgrimage, often donate replicas of the healed body parts made ​​of gold or silver. Similar to the practice in Hindu pilgrimages, many pilgrims leave the hair shears ( cf. temple hair). Apart from Catholics, the Basilica of Velankanni is also attended by local Hindus and Muslims.

Velankanni is the most important Christian pilgrimage destination of India. But the eleven-day religious festival that takes place every year in August / September, attracts an estimated two million pilgrims. Highlight of the festival is a procession in which an image of Mary on a processional chariot (similar to the Hindu temple chariots ) is pulled through the city. For the pilgrims who flock from different parts of India after Velankanni, fairs are held in eight different languages: Tamil, English, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Konkani, Hindi and Marathi.